Indian Point

Location

Located on the southwest tip of Chebeague Island and connecting to the tidal sandbar of Little Chebeague Island

Date Protected

May 1999

OWNERSHIP

Indian Island Company (CCLT easement)

Size

25 Acres

Public Access

This property needs special care, especially during the busy summer months when so many wish to enjoy the beach and sandbar. Please remember to:

“Walk if you can, drive if you must.” The access road should be used only to deliver small children or handicapped persons who cannot walk down.

Please park in designated spaces along North Road. Parking below is limited to five cars and intended for clammers and the mobility impaired.

Please drive slowly (5 mph) on the access road; there are often children walking.

Please respect the privacy of the owners beyond the public access corridor to the beach and intertidal bar and along the beach by the boathouse.

Please stay off the fragile dunes.

Please enjoy low impact use only: “Leave only footprints; take only photographs.”

Please restrain dogs on the beach and bar to prevent them from molesting migratory birds, especially during the migration season of late July and August.

Conservation Purposes

Provides 3,700 feet of scenic shoreline and seabird habitat with public access to the tidal sandbar and limited access for low impact recreational use.

Description & History

Indian Point, also known as "The Hook," is located on the west side of Chebeague Island adjacent to the tidal sandbar to Little Chebeague Island. In 1999 the owners and stockholders of the Indian Island Company granted a conservation easement to CCLT on 25 acres of land with 3,700 feet of shoreline "to provide significant public benefit, in particular for the residents and property owners of Chebeague Island and the town of Cumberland, by preserving forever in substantially its current form and usage:

the wildlife habitat and open space;

the scenic views to and from Casco Bay and adjacent Little Chebeague Island;

the continued availability of pedestrian and vehicular access across, and parking on, a portion of the property to accommodate pedestrian access across the beach to the adjacent tidal sandbar to Little Chebeague;

the availability of a portion of the property for low impact outdoor recreational use and nature observation by residents and property owners of Chebeague and Cumberland and their guests.

Visitors to The Hook will immediately understand why the Indian Island Company wanted to include the property in its holdings in the 1930s. There is a windswept wildness to this place that is uncommon in the center of Casco Bay. Sea birds gather to feed at low tide, the mussel beds shift with the seasons, and the open view is exhilarating. Indian Point is a sandbar, an ecosystem extremely vulnerable to erosion, and therefore it is essential to respect public access restrictions.

The nature and scenery at Indian Point has provided inspiration to Chebeague Island residents and youth for many generations, as evidenced by these 2013 student videos about the property and this extraordinary catalog of bird sightings compiled by Tineke and Robert Breed and prepared by Beverly Johnson.